


Hey, Aren't You—?

by Represent



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 12:28:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5626711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Represent/pseuds/Represent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's four years after Phantom Planet and Phantom's days of obscurity are over. Trying— and failing— to blend in at a local bar, Danny runs into an old flame who has never been impressed or enamored by his alter ego.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hey, Aren't You—?

If Danny hadn’t obsessed over her in high school, he was certain he would have missed Valerie Grey sitting quietly in the corner, nursing a beer. But there she was, looking just as perfect as he remembered. They hadn’t talked ever since…

“Hey, you’re Danny Phantom, right?”

He reluctantly tore his gaze off Valerie to look at a younger-looking twenty-something male in a University of Cincinnati sweatshirt. Not that Danny wasn’t a twenty-something. He was twenty-two to be exact. This guy had a Bud Light in one hand and was grinning widely from ear to ear. That smile was really eager. It made Danny nervous.

“Nope,” Danny told him. “But I get that a lot. Guess I just have one of those faces.”  
  
“Aw man, really?” the guy groaned. “You look _just_ like him. You could be his twin. You sure you aren’t him?”

“You think Danny _Phantom_ would be drinking in the middle of nowhere, alone, on a Saturday night?” Danny asked. As he spoke his eyes flicked to Tucker who was attempting to chat up a pair of women over by the bar. Tucker was too busy being distracted by cleavage to come to his rescue. Although, even if he wasn’t busy, Danny doubted Tucker would be of much help. Ever since Antarctica Tucker found Danny’s fame– and by extension his own second-hand fame– hilarious and useful.

The kid laughed. “Hey, sorry about the mix up. It’s just I thought for _sure_ he was you.”

“Yeah too bad,” Danny smiled a mystical smile. “Having ghost powers would be pretty sweet.”

“Yeah, too bad.” The kid wandered off.

As Danny wound his way over to Tucker he looked back over for Valerie. She was staring at him with an unreadable expression on her face. The minute she realized he was looking back she broke eye contact and stared down at the rim of her glass with intensity. Danny frowned softly. She was still mad at him? Even after four years?

“–and _then_ , after we all thought he was dead–”

Great.

“Tucker,” Danny greeted, seeing the wide-eyed stares these two women were giving him and the way Tucker was swaying slightly to the left, obviously drunk at this point. “What did I tell you? What was the _one thing_ I asked you not to do tonight?”

Tucker looked at him guiltily, and then offered him his beer as an apology. “Sorry man, they asked.”

“We won’t tell,” the blonde woman on the left spoke up. She was beautiful. Curvy, petite, and wearing a loose v-neck shirt that revealed the tanned swell of her breasts. Her friend was pretty as well. Tall and thin like a willow tree with short dark hair and blue eyes.

“Yeah,” chimed the other, her eyelashes batting. “Your secret’s safe with us.”

“What secret?” Danny muttered.

So much for his secret. He couldn’t even get a beer without the whole bar roping him into reliving the Antarctica story. Tucker was no help. He immediately babbled the minute breasts were put within five feet of his face. If someone had told Danny that eventually attractive women everywhere would be interested in him he would have laughed until he cried. Now Danny had learned these type of women were like an insidious disease— best avoided at all costs. All they wanted was a one-night stand, his phone number, and bragging rights. All they ever left behind was a cracked heart and the horrible feeling of being used. Tucker obviously hadn’t learned this lesson fully. Then again, Tucker had always been a slow learner.

Danny looked at the pair of them for a moment, before he chugged the beer Tucker gave him and set the empty bottle back down on the bar behind them. He could see where this night was going. He was going to need at least four more of those.

“I’m Monica,” the blonde held out a hand, tossing him a coy smile. “Danny, right?”

Nope. He was not doing this.

“Nice to meet you,” Danny mumbled, shaking her hand as quickly as was polite. “I’ll be right back. Bathroom.”

Tucker gave him an annoyed look, knowing Danny was just extracting himself from this situation as quickly as possible. “C’mon,” he pleaded, but Danny was already halfway across the bar.

Having nothing to do besides actually go to the bathroom, Danny found a dark and semi-inconspicuous spot to stand in line. There was only one bathroom in the whole establishment. It was unisex. About ten girls stood in front of him, all irritated and dancing around in their high heels. Usually he would be annoyed by this, but he didn’t really _need_ to go and the more time he wasted here was time he didn’t have to talk to Monica about Phantom.

Danny sighed and leaned his head against the wall, closing his eyes for a moment. In high school all he wanted was for people to notice him. Funny how, now that he had all the attention he could handle, he clung desperately to shadowed corners.

“Hey, aren’t you–?” A woman’s voice intoned from his left.

Danny didn’t even open his eyes. “Nope,” he interrupted tiredly, irritated beyond belief. “I’m not him.”

“Oh, you’re him alright. You’re Danny _Fenton._ ”

Danny frowned and cracked one eye open, peering over to see Valerie Grey giving him an uncertain smile. All tension flooded out at him. Here was someone he could talk to that wanted nothing to do with Phantom. Some part of him hoped she still hated him. Anything other than awed worship and admiration.

“Valerie,” Danny greeted. He found himself grinning. She was beyond lovely even in the dingy red-tinted light of the bar. Much of the baby fat was gone around her cheekbones. Her hair was still huge and tumbling in every direction. She was in a tight long black dress. Danny forced himself not to let his eyes trail over all of her curves. “It’s been a while.”

Four years, actually. The last time he had seen her had been at graduation. She had tossed him a small wave from across the field.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him, amused.

“I thought it was obvious.” Danny looked pointedly at the bathroom stall door.

Valerie rolled her eyes. “No, smartass. I mean at the bar.”

“Same as you.” Danny shrugged. “Getting a drink. Attempting to be normal. Failing. Hiding in a corner.”

Valerie made a small face. “Ah. You saw that?”

They shuffled down a spot in line.

“You’re hard to miss,” Danny told her quietly. He felt a blush creep on his cheeks at the admission.

Valerie frowned softly and peered up at him. She was a good four inches shorter.

Danny wondered what she thought of him. Four years ago Valerie had wanted to kill his ghostly alter-ego. And yet, here they were, secret out, chatting as if no time had really passed.

“What have you been up to, Danny?” she asked him.

“ _Danny?_ ” The girl to his right froze and spun, taking him in hungrily. “Oh my god– Are you?”

If Valerie wasn’t standing next to him, Danny would have just phased through the wall and called it a night. But he wasn’t about to leave after finally getting the chance to talk to her again. Already just being near her had his stomach flipping and his heart fluttering. He was fifteen again.

“Nope, not the same Danny. Different Danny,” he said weakly.

Valerie watched the exchange, humor dancing in her eyes.

The girl was having none of it. She leaned heavily into Danny and grabbed his arm. “Yes you are! You’re him! _You’re_ Danny Pha—”

“Hey look–” Danny pointed. “It’s your turn.” He extracted his arm out of her grip, feeling somehow violated.

The girl teetered into the bathroom stall, looking over her shoulder at him in disbelief even as she closed the door.

Danny shuddered, before turning to glare at Valerie.

“Sorry,” Valerie laughed. She hid her lips behind her hand, abashed. “I didn’t think that after four years you’d still be so recognizable.”

“I’m an supernatural oddity and a come-back kid story all rolled into one,” Danny told her tiredly. “My life will ever be the same.”

Valerie’s smile faded as she stared up at him.

_Great. Now she feels sorry for me?_ Danny mentally hit himself over the head. He never knew what to say around Valerie, never knew what she was thinking. Their relationship was always two steps away from disaster. It’s what made Valerie so addictive.

“Where’s Sam?” Valerie asked suddenly.

Danny blinked, thrown by the question. “Probably at in her apartment,” he uttered. “Why?”

“Oh, I just thought she’d be here. With you guys together and all.”

Danny snorted. “Sam and I realized after about a year we worked better as friends.”

An odd expression crossed Valerie’s face. “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

Danny waved a hand. “Nah, it’s fine. There’s no hard feelings. We’re still best friends. We laugh about it, actually. She’s dating this football player right now.” —Danny saw Valerie’s incredulous look— “I know right? She’s happy with him though. Just goes to show you never really know what you need until you find it.”

“Yeah,” Valerie agreed quietly. “Funny how life works out like that. Just when you think you know something for sure, your whole world gets flipped upside down.”

Danny was suddenly _very_ aware of how close they were. Valerie’s nose was two inches from his chin. He let out a slow breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. There really had been no time lost. Valerie had the same hold on him she had always had. Danny swallowed and cleared his throat nervously. “So… uh… what about you? Seeing anyone?”

“I’m on a first date, but he’s awful.” Valerie hummed. “Financial analyst. So boring. Not to mention a misogynistic asshole. I was actually hoping to escape out the back.” Her eyes twinkled in the low light. “Wanna help a girl out?”

“Oh, _now_ you want my help? Now that invisibility is convenient for you?” Danny teased dramatically. “You’re just like all the others. I should have known. Once the enemy, always the enemy.”

Valerie tilted her head back and let loose a deliciously free laugh.

Danny felt his heart skip. He said it. He said the elephant in the room (or bar) and Valerie wasn’t phased. Did she not care that he was Phantom? Had she come to terms with it? Danny felt a thread of confidence start to grow in him. This confidence was bolstered by three beers. He was slightly buzzed. Valerie grinned up at him, slightly buzzed as well. This was dangerous territory they were moving into. Not that that was anything new for them.

“I’m sorry, you know,” he told her, “I never meant to mess things up for you.”

“I know,” she said quietly.

And that was that.

“Tell you what,” Danny said boldly. “I won’t break you out of here, but I _will_ promise to be a not-boring and not-misogynistic date.”

Valerie fell silent. Her smile faded thoughtfully as her eyes darted across his face.

“Danny,” she said softly. Danny shivered at the sound of her saying his name in that husky voice. Her body was a half inch from being pressed along his. Half expecting to get rejected, he gently wound an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “This is crazy. I just...”

“You just?” Danny prompted.

Valerie made no attempt to get out of the hold. Instead she leaned forward into him, her perfume hitting his nose, sending his mind spinning in dizzy euphoric circles. Her gaze was suddenly peering up into his, searching for something. Danny frowned, puzzled. What were they doing? What was _he_ doing? He was about to let go of her, about to walk away, when she stood up on her tiptoes and crashed her lips into his.

“Mmf-!” Danny managed, wincing a bit at the force behind the kiss. It wasn’t gentle. It was a conquest. Valerie had his chin in her hand as she deepened the kiss into something hotter and more meaningful. Danny, momentarily stunned, took a minute to catch up, but he threaded his hands into the back of her head and let her lead.

Danny panted as she broke the kiss. He rested his forehead on hers and ran his thumb along her glistening bottom lip. That was it. He wanted her. All of her. Her passion and her independence, her stubbornness and her bravery. He wanted her to challenge him, to best him at almost everything. He loved the fact that she was unimpressed by him. Loved that he could never tell what she was thinking, could never predict what she would do next. With Sam there had never been this thrill of the unknown. He knew Sam too well. Danny was realizing just how little he knew Valerie Grey.

A bang resounded as the bathroom door opened and the girl from before stumbled out drunkenly.

Valerie’s gaze turned mischievous. Before he could figure out what that smirk meant, her iron-clad grip tugged him through the threshold of the bathroom door. The lock clicked and she was kissing him again, pressing him up against the graffitied cement wall. A small voice inside him argued petulantly that this was a terrible, horrible, god awful idea, but it only took Valerie’s one artless grind against him for that voice to quiet.

The rational side of his brain flatlined.

He was drowning in all of her hair and her lips and her dark smooth skin. The affair was frantic and heady. Their tongues meshed as they battled, like always, for some semblance of an upper-hand.

With all of the— admittedly few— women Danny had been with before there was always a myriad of interruptions. _“Is this okay?”_ _“Are you sure” “Do you want me?”_ or “ _Can I?”_ But with Valerie there was no talking; just a scramble of hands and her breath hot in his mouth.

He hitched her dress up her legs as she raked a hand down his scalp. She shuddered against him as he circumnavigated her lacy underwear and delved a finger up inside her. Her hand on his shoulder grew tight and she moaned in a way that should be illegal. Danny swallowed dryly, having never been with someone that personified _sex_ as much as Valerie did right now.

This was crazy. She was right. _What were they doing?_ Danny dimly realized that _he_ was the one about to ask all those useless uncertain questions, not the other way around.

But then Valerie stumbled off of him and fumbled for his belt. With a small tug she released his erection from his jeans and boxers. Danny couldn’t help but hiss at the cold air, before Valerie slicked her hand with his pre-cum and gave several decisive strokes that had him praying up to the ceiling.

_“Fuck–”_ he croaked. He slammed his hand down, gripping the edge of the sink just in case his knees gave out as she kept a steady pace. He hadn’t had a girl touch him in almost a year. Already he could feel his toes starting to curl in his shoes, an orgasm building somewhere in his stomach. His eyes fluttered, breath hitching.

Valerie grabbed his other hand, tugging it insistently up to her breasts.

Danny groaned and gently shoved her away.

“What?” she asked breathlessly.

He could smell the beer on her lips. This wasn’t right. They shouldn’t be doing this. She ran her hands up Danny’s shirt, her fingertips traversing down his abs.

He didn’t want to admit how he’d almost been pushed over the edge. The way that she had _wanted_ him to touch her breasts, to knead it. It had almost undone him. Was this even real? Danny felt as if this was just one elaborate wet dream. Although, he glanced around the bathroom, if this was what his imagination could come up with this was kind of dismal. There were penis drawings all over the walls and the light above was flickering with a sad droning monotonous hum.

“Your eyes.” Valerie took a step closer to him. Her dress was spun halfway around up over her hips, revealing her orange panties, and her hair was muffed from where he had grabbed it. She looked like a goddess, her curvaceous body outlined in the dim overhead lighting. “They’re glowing.”

“They do that,” Danny managed out. If he had been a stronger person he would have stopped, but much of his willpower fled as she pressed her entire body against his and kissed him relentlessly. Danny wondered which of them was taking advantage of the other at this point. Who was hunting whom? Had he ever really been in control or had Valerie always, _always,_ had the advantage?

It was at that train of thought that Danny decided to take some initiative of his own. He reached down and grabbed her leg, yanking it out from underneath her while hoisting her against him so she didn’t fall.

“Wha–” Valerie grunted, surprised, as Danny spun her around and pushed her back against the wall. Valerie was looked at him, strangely pleased at this role reversal. She moved to press her hips down against him, but he pulled back so she met nothing but air. The leg Danny was holding up flailed as Valerie’s entire body stiffened and flinched. The soap dispenser got kicked off of the sink. Danny had to struggle to keep her contained as he gave a few maddeningly slow thrusts, rubbing along her.

“Danny— _Please_ —” Valerie looked up at him in surprise, as if she had never expected him to  ever _ever_ be like this. As if she couldn’t quite believe that the awkward shy gangly nobody she had briefly dated in high school could have the audacity to tease her against a bathroom wall like this.

Then it struck Danny. She didn’t really get it. That he was Phantom. She understood, yes, but right now she was only thinking of him as the boy she had dated years and years ago, not as the ghost she had hunted. Danny paused, looking at the way the green glow of his eyes bathed her cheeks. He gripped the coldness deep within him, plunging his form into that frigid weightlessness.

Valerie stiffened, witnessing the transformation with her own two eyes, up close.

Danny felt her body automatically attempt to shy away from him, but he kept her pinned. “Hey,” he told her softly. “It’s still me. Promise.” He used his teeth to tug one of his gloves off and let it drop to the floor before holding up his faintly glowing, yet human enough, hand.

“I-I know,” Valerie stuttered. “It’s just–”

Danny smiled, purposefully not moving to avoid spooking her. “It’s just?” he repeated.

“I just hated this face for so long,” Valerie said honestly. Danny found he wasn’t hurt by her admission. It was just a statement of fact. Valerie reached a hand forward to touch his white hair, her eyes curious. “It’s hard to not see the enemy.”

“Am I still your enemy?” Danny found himself asking.

Valerie suddenly looked exhausted. “No,” she whispered. “You were never my enemy. I realized that a little late.”

Danny leaned forward to kiss her, before he paused and thought better of it. _One step at a time_. He gently released all her limbs until she was standing on her own again and straightened her dress for her, fixing her hair, tucking a spiralled lock of it behind her ear.

She watched him in humor. “What are you doing?” she asked dryly.

“What? Is it too late for me to be a gentleman?”

“Probably,” Valerie snorted. “Although gentlemen are boring and misogynistic.”

Danny hummed softly as he tried to make himself presentable. He picked his glove up off of the floor last, tugging it onto his bare hand. As he spun to take her in he tossed her an almost embarrassed smile. “I like you, Valerie,” he confessed. “I don’t want this to be the first and last time we hang out. I’d like to see you more often than just once every four years.”

Valerie gave him a shy grin. “I’d like that too.”

“I also don’t want our first time to be in a unisex bathroom of a bar while we’re both buzzed.”

“Yeah,” she conceded. “I guess I can live with that.”

“So… Under those two conditions, do you want to go grab some dinner right now and ditch this place?”

Valerie suddenly looked nervous.

Danny frowned, heart sinking. Maybe he shouldn’t have changed? Maybe he shouldn’t have been so forward? He should have known that they would never work out. He had just thought, after four years, maybe there was a chance to start anew.

There was a sudden banging noise and the door to the bathroom rattled. “Hurry up in there!” someone shouted from outside.

“I’d rather not let everyone know we just boned,” Valerie muttered.

“But we didn’t,” Danny corrected. Valerie gave him a look like: _does it matter_? Danny guessed that, in the grand scheme of things, no it probably didn’t. For all intents and purposes leaving together out of the bathroom would be embarrassing, for both of them.

He extended a gloved hand.

“Trust me?” he asked her.

Valerie paused, combing her hair with her fingers for a long moment as she peered at him. She worried her lip for a moment before she took a step forward, off of the wall, to join him in the middle of the bathroom. “Fine, ghost.” She intertwined her fingers in his. “I _guess_ I’ll give you a shot.”

“You mean, like, not from a gun, right?”

Valerie rolled her eyes.

“Just making sure. I was hoping you’d say that,” Danny chuckled. He tightened his grip on her hand and gave it a soft shake, plunging them both into invisibility.

Valerie gasped and grappled at his arm, her eyes wide as she watched them both fade out of sight in the mirror.

“You okay?” Danny’s disembodied voice asked.

“Yeah,” she told him breathlessly.

“Is this gentleman still boring?” Danny asked cheekily.

Valerie frowned severely and moved to cuff his head, but probably had no clue where it was. She whiffed, missing it by a foot.

Danny couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright. Hang on,” he warned her, gripping her tighter, pulling her to his side and along for the ride.

It was an hour later when Danny glanced up from where he was stirring his milkshake, only to find Valerie giving him a positively evil grin.

“What?” His blue eyes narrowed.

Valerie gave him another one of those free laughs, her head tilting back as if the sheer force of it was enough to knock her head right off her shoulders. “We never unlocked the bathroom door.”


End file.
